buck 102's

tigerdale

tigerdale

Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
67
Hi, I'm new to this forum. Is there any way, website, book, etc. that I can find information on the history of the buck 102 woodsman knife....from different types produced, years, production numbers, rare types...any info is appreciated. Thank you.
 
Welcome to the Buck forum, Tigerdale! I am far from an expert in Buck lore, but if you are patient, some of the nicest fellows you can meet will help you out.
 
Hey Tigerdale...
Like A.P.F., I extend a warm welcome to ya.
While I do have a Woody...I don't know much about the lineage. The one I have is a 102BR Cocobola. It was my very first fixed blade Buck :)

And, again as A.P.F. mentioned, others will be along I am certain. I simply wanted to say "welcome".

Goose.
 
Hi Tiger-
You are asking alot. The old woodsman and prior, woodsman's pal, have been a mainstay in the Buck line since early in the hand-mades and the model still exists in production. Could you be a little more specific in your inquiry?
102s have had lignum vitae, lucite, plexiglass, phenolic, cocobolo, stag, elk, ironwood and Yellowhorse handles just to name a few. The construction has been varied too. Both barrel nut and pinned tangs have been used. 440C, 425M, and now 420HC blades have been used from 1961 when Buck incorporated. The little 102 has been paired as twin sets with 103s and Hunter's axes prior to 1961 and, of course, since. Riccassos have been stamped with every form of stamping you'll ever find on a Buck knife with the possible exception of "Buck Lifetime". But maybe one or more 102s got that?
Tiger' , I am not even scratching the surface of what a true 102 fan would know. 'Blade's Guide' is a place to start your reading. If you were wanting to complete a model line to collect, you picked one where the fun just might not ever end!
Dave
 
I appreciate all the info. I have kind of collected 102's off & on for a few years since it was my first ever hunting knife. I thought maybe I should get serious & see how many different models there are & values to each. I don't think I've ever seen one pre 1961. I have a couple stags, one from the custom shop & one regular production I believe from the 90's. I have a rosewood handle one from the 90's I believe that I have never seen again. I know some of the collector ones like yellowhorse carry a nice pricetag, but which older ones do? What are the rare ones? I did even pick up a pre 86 (used) coca bola handle one I didn't know they made that early.
 
Tigerdale!
Sounds like you are well underway with the 102s, how nice!
The 124s and 106s got a birch laminated face-lift in December of '82. The 102s (along with 119s and 103s) were offered a short time later in the cocobolo dress as well so getting that pre-date code woody 102 is quite possible. Congrats on that find!
As with us folks, price tends to rise with age. Simply put, the older 102s will tend to be higher in value than the new.
As to pre-'61 102s, the shape was slightly different. Keep in mind that the hand-made 105s had a clip point blade. The older knives are without model numbers so find a good example of an older 102 and burn that on the brain cells. Then, just find one for sale. Easy, ain't it?
Good luck in the chase-
Dave
 
Wow Jim, good memory, I forgot I have that knife. It's a Group 10, pre-factory 1956-61 102. The handle is Ebony, 4 leather spacers,4 aluminum spacers, pin through the pommel.
 
Thank you Scott, that is a sweet old 102!!!
Hi Jeff! Did you get the email for the lanyards?
 
I appreciate all this info, I really do. If in the next few weeks or so I post pictures of a few 102's, maybe you could help me date them. Also, is there a list of the different 102's that came out of 'normal' production runs?
 
I've finally had time to look at a few of my 102's...the 102 with the rosewood handle & aluminum ends seems to be one I haven't ever seen for sale again, this has the symbol stating it was produced in 1994. Does anyone know how long they made the rosewood handle 102? are they rare? Other than the custom knives, I had only seen the black, stag & cocobola handle models.
 
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